Loading docks are common features of warehouses, retail stores, and other structures where trucks load and unload cargo. A typical loading dock has an opening ranging from 6 to 9 feet in width and 7 to 13 feet in height. A rubber bumper is typically placed along the bottom side of the opening to mitigate damage to the cargo body when trucks or trailers back up to the loading dock.
While the rubber bumper ensures that the cargo body does not come in contact with the building, it also creates gaps between the side and top walls of the cargo body and the building structure. Left unblocked, these gaps may allow environment effects, such as heat, cold, rain, and/or snow, as well as bugs, rodents, and other small animals into the building. To mitigate this, pads are typically installed along the edges of the loading dock. The pads act to fill these gaps and maintain a seal between the loading dock and the cargo body. A typical pad contains a foam rubber core secured to a wood frame and wrapped in a tough waterproof exterior covering. The wrapped pad and frame are then typically mounted to the loading dock doorway using metal brackets. An example of loading dock pads are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,424, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
While door seals are easily installed on smooth-sided buildings, buildings with uneven exteriors pose difficulties in installation. One common building exterior type contains regularly spaced ridges. The use of prior art door seal mountings generally requires cutting out sections of the ridges during installation of the door seal. This is generally needed because the ridge interferes with the mounting of a bracket used to hold the mounting in place. Even if a seal mount can be attached without cutting the ridge, for example, by welding the mount instead of using fastening brackets, the ridge often obscures the side of the mounting. In such an occluded position, it becomes difficult or impossible to secure the frame and seal in the mount by usual methods, for example, by passing lag screws through the side of the mount and into the frame.